Bless Me Father
by Silverblacktears
Summary: A 'rewrite' of the scene between Janos and Raziel. SR2 - Janos Keep Full Details inside


Bless me Father

Bless me Father

AN: Happy Birthday to my dear friend Nani, I thought I had best write you a little something to celebrate the day (Even if I can't remember when it is! XD).

This mini-fic features two of my fave Soul Reaver 2 characters in a scenario that could never have happened, technically making it a slight AU (Or a rewrite) but I think it's a nice moment all the same.

By nature, I hate rewrites, I despise them but at the same time to achieve the moment I wanted I had very little in game time to manage it! The other alternative was to put it in the other fic I'm working on, but then it wouldn't be ready for Nani's birthday …

Characters belong to Crystal Dynamics, who have my thanks for making this sublime series of games.

BMFBMF

He had been damned.

Janos Audron could not help the look of pain his face held as he walked towards the blue skinned figure, his large black wings proudly at his back as always but right now he felt far from proud. They called him the father of the Vampire's and to see one his 'children' so raped by time caused the Ancient one a stab of unmistakable pain; this child was in agony and somehow it felt like his fault. He crossed the distance between them, inadvertently tracing the steps of Raziel's Sire to circle around him; a three fingered hand rose to his lips as he saw the wreckage that lay behind this scrawny child. "Raziel?" He murmured, he knew the name from some memory half recalled, "My child, what have they done to you?"

He knew this was the wrong question and as he caused the wraith like form to jolt by resting a hand on his shoulder he realised that this beings reactions were born of being on the alert all the time, of fearing where the next hit would come from. "No … who did this to you?" He asked, wanting to know who had been responsible for reducing a once proud knightly figure to a skeletal ghoul.

No answer was forthcoming and Janos started to formulate his own theories; no powerful warrior would allow anyone other then a sire or a lover to get so close to them and he rather hoped that only the Sire would have the strength to wreck such havoc on a body. It made him angry to think a 'parent' could punish one of their own so savagely, what had Raziel done to incur the wrath of his sire so savagely? What crime had led to his own creator mutilating him?

"Why?"

"Because I surpassed my lord," Raziel replied simply, he felt rather on edge at the continuing perusal of his damaged form. "I have been dragged through hell and back; all it seems, to reach this moment." He tried to steer the conversation towards his reason for being here, to end the scrutiny of his distant relation. "But I don't yet know why."

For centuries he had sat up here alone, considering what to say to his most important of guests but in that one moment, faced by a being that had clearly suffered so much pain all the words vanished. He had meant to speak of obligation to the species and to Nosgoth, of doing what was right to ensure everyone's survival but in light of what his hero had so clearly been through, Janos found the words had vanished. He fumbled for the words for a while longer, "For thousands of years, I have waited... alone here, losing faith..." He murmured, looking down at his hands for a brief moment.

"At the time of the Binding, nine guardians were called to serve the Pillars. And I was summoned as the tenth guardian - the keeper of the Reaver, the weapon of our salvation." He knew this to be something of a startling revelation, every being on Nosgoth had come to appreciate that there were nine guardians in place to watch the pillars. "Over time, our race died out. Until I alone remained …" His words were tinged by sorrow as he thought once again of his long dead kinsmen. " … Sustained only by my obligation to you, and by my guardianship of the blade."

Raziel rose his right arm into his line of sight, the arm around which the Spectral Reaver could coil so seductively keen to strike any its unwitting keeper turned it on. When he looked up again, Janos was walking towards the balcony, his pace slow and thoughtful and Raziel rather suspected that Janos was used to having a lot of time to do things in. "And the other nine? Why did their guardianship not sustain them?" Raziel asked as he let his arm fall back to his side.

There was a moment of quiet contemplation as the Ancient considered his answer, "I don't know," He admitted, a dream like mannerism slipping over his words.

Golden eyes drifted out beyond his keep as Janos thought about how to say his next words; Raziel, like all on Nosgoth was painfully unaware of the past of the world they lived on. "As our race dwindled, the humans prospered." He explained, knowing this was common logic. "I have watched, over the centuries, as our history faded into myth, and finally receded altogether. The humans have forgotten us entirely, and claimed the Pillars for themselves - wholly ignorant of their true purpose." He tried not to let his frustration bite into the words, knowing he could remain a little removed from it all. "To them, I am merely a devil; the origin of their vampire 'plague'."

Raziel moved forwards slowly, pace rather more relaxed then it usually was as for the first time in decades he felt safe; it was a strange feeling for him, but it settled on his shoulders with ease. "Why would the Pillars summon human guardians, then, if they are meant to be served by vampires?" He had to ask of his ancient kin, trying to peel away all the layers of the mystery he found himself so deeply entrenched in.

"The Pillars choose their guardians from birth, Raziel - and vampires are no longer born." Janos pointed out, pacing to the very edge of the balcony as he spoke. "This is the crux of our dilemma," He motioned for Raziel to join him, overlooking the icy lake below, "And this is the terrible irony; with their vampire purge, the members of the Circle have assaulted the very architects of the Pillars they are sworn to protect." He explained as Raziel moved to his side. "They have embarked on a treacherous path. With every vampire they kill, the humans are slitting their own throats."

Gradual understanding bloomed as Raziel looked over the valley the keep was nestled in; the pillars needed Vampire guardians, with these being stolen away by the Sarafan crusade – and later Moebius' cut throats – the pillars were hunting for the next available guardian and the only ones left were humans.

"They know I'm up here, beyond their reach, and it terrifies them." Janos murmured as he looked out over the lake; with one three fingered hand he gestured the corpses who kept silent sentinel at the base of his home. "You can see how they flaunt their kills to torment me... or perhaps simply to lure me out." Raziel looked up towards him, sensing the pain behind the words; he wondered how many times the tactic had nearly worked, how many times the ancient Vampire had nearly lost his cool and felt murderous but did not ask. "They have this foolish notion that destroying me will somehow topple our entire bloodline." He revealed, a small smile now marring the tones, "Thankfully, we're not that fragile,"

"I have seen them mustering their forces in the village below," The wraith revealed.

Janos inclined his head slightly, "Yes. I don't know what they're plotting... but I fear our time may be bitterly short." This startled Raziel ever so slightly, he looked at Janos from the corner of his eyes and for a moment he thought Janos looked older, weighed down by his guardianship as he watched those he had been responsible for creating die at the hands of Humans.

"Mankind seems to have brought you only torment and grief." Raziel commented at length, "You must hate them."

There was a pause, Janos considered his answer for a long time, "They fear what they don't understand; and they despise what they fear." He offered, looking towards Raziel, "But no, I do not hate them." He looked over the form besides him, once a proud knight, now little more then a ghoul and shook his head. "And what of you? Do you hate your Vampiric kin for what they have done for you?"

This pause was longer, the wraith thought about his answer for a while, "I am … uncertain," He admitted. "I hate Kain, this I know more keenly then anything," He looked down over the icy lake again, eyes alighting on the impaled vampires. "But these creatures are not the Vampire's I know, the act of the few does not dictate how the many will be." Raziel thought about his true kin, of his vampire brothers and father and mentally concluded that the Vampire's to spring up from the decay of the pillars were not comparable to the ones outside. "I daresay that Human's and Vampires are the same in that regard, one cannot judge an entire species on just a part of it."

Janos inclined his head to this, it seemed he had more in common with Raziel then he thought; he certainly had more in common with Raziel then with his own first born son, Vorador. "But Vorador does hate them," The Wraith pointed out.

"He has suffered much, he cannot forgive them."

This was an interesting snippet of information, Raziel could not fathom just what it was that Vorador had suffered at the hands of man but he knew Janos would not answer such a question. "Should they be forgiven?" The Wraith asked, motioning the corpses bunched outside, impaled so callously; most of them were mere fledglings, still possessing all five of their human fingers.

Janos allowed himself a small smile, "They don't understand what they're doing. They are simply unenlightened... and vulnerable to manipulation." He offered, he knew Raziel probably understood this better then anyone else he had said it to.

Raziel meditated on this point for a while, looking down for a few moments more before looking up at Janos. "So it's all true – what Kain and Vorador have told me – I really am some kind of unholy Vampire messiah ..."

"Unholy? No," Janos corrected him gently, "Messiah … perhaps,"

Brow furrowing, Raziel clenched his hand into a fist at his side, "I don't like that word, it smells of martyrdom," He muttered, having learnt of his own roots the very thought of dying for a cause - again - repulsed him.

"Raziel, your role in this world's destiny is more crucial - and more benevolent - than you've allowed yourself to believe." Janos admonished him, "Your journey will not be easy - dark powers are allied against you." His yellow toned eyes travelled up over the form besides him, lingering on his torn wings for a time, "But I think you already know this... you appear to have been cruelly tested." He led the way back into the keep and Raziel followed him, the Ancient one stood still for a time.

He wasn't sure what made him do it but he reached a hand towards the cloth over Raziel's face; with the curiosity of a child but the gentleness of a parent, Janos slowly uncoiled the cowl. Raziel made a half-hearted grab for his hand but his secret was soon revealed; Janos eyes widened as he held the cowl in his hands, taking in just what time had done to Raziel's body. He rested one hand on the blue skinned forehead, tilting Raziel's head so that he had the unpleasant view right down the inside of the Wraith's neck; he could sense he was making Raziel uncomfortable but he felt the need to see.

His long fingers tangled in Raziel's hair as he examined the jawless form, "My child," He murmured, his hand brushing down to the Wraith's bony cheek, coming to rest on what remained of the bone there. His eyes lingered on the pure white ones before him and he sighed, "I'm sorry," He murmured.

"You have nothing to apologise for …"

Janos shook his head, "I apologise for him," He offered in a small voice, moving his hand from what remained of Raziel's cheek. "For what one of my kin did to you," He handed Raziel back the cowl and with the ease of practice, Raziel threw it back on; Janos was quiet for a while longer.

"The binding must be secured, Raziel," Janos muttered, "The pillars are the lock –"

"And the Reaver is the key," Raziel concluded, working through what the Ancient had said to its logical conclusion; he was glad that Janos had chosen to move on, the older Vampire seeing the damage his face had suffered was strangely demoralising.

"Yes,"

Approaching an ornate chest that was set into the wall, Janos opened it to reveal the material form of the Reaver; for the first time, Raziel stood in the presence of the blade without the distortion two versions of the Reaver meeting usually caused. "The Reaver is here?" He murmured, voice soft as he looked down at the blade. "Why do I feel nothing?"

He watched as Janos lifted the blade, showing the Reaver the same reverence as a monk would a holy artefact left them by a saint; he found himself being presented with said blade and he went to reach out for it. "The most formidable weapon ever forged by our swordsmiths... They infused the blade with vampiric energy, empowering the Reaver to drain our enemies of their precious lifeblood."He explained, he sounded proud of what their kin had managed.

Raziel battled instinct, part of him wanted to touch the blade, to take it up as his own sword more then anything else in the world but at the same time there was fear; it ran deep within him and he pulled his hand back. "Please, take it away from me," He murmured, not wanting the sword to be so close to him.

Then the sounds came; Raziel knew the din of armour platted feet striking solid ground only too well and knew at once this was his fault. Moebius had tricked him. All the Time Streamer had ever wanted was for someone to lead his beloved Sarafan to the monster they could not reach and it had been his fault. A look of dismay crossed Janos features but it was swiftly followed by a look of resignation; he had known this day would come, that one day the Sarafan would find him and he looked towards Raziel. "I fear you have been followed …"

Almost the moment the words left his lips, the door crashed open and a squad of gold armoured Sarafan knights burst into the room. Raziel was not altogether certain that he had a heart, but in that moment he felt it sink upon noticing what the leader of this murderous band held in his hand the most deadly weapon against the Vampires; Moebius staff. That simple, sadistic piece of wood and crystal could immobilise Janos but Raziel knew that it would only affect the Reaver, not him; he went to charge, intending fully to defend Janos from the Sarafan by any means he could.

Janos' hand rested on his shoulder, "You must save yourself, Raziel," He insisted, he put his other hand on Raziel's other shoulder and Raziel's eyes widened as he realised what Janos was going to do.

"Janos, No!" He yelled but it was too late, the spell had been cast and Raziel found himself conveyed from the room.

END

Yes, I know the ending is rather abrupt.


End file.
